How This Co-Founder Found Work-Life Balance

Finders keepers, losers weepers. This familiar idiom is a perfect way to describe the innovative shopping site Keep.com that's revolutionizing the way stylish women shop for trends before they’re trending. Say hello to your new little #ootd.

So, how does it work? First, sign up and make your presence known. Browse the amazing products and when something catches your eye, you can choose to like it, buy it, or keep it for later. And, you ask, who is behind the scenes ensuring ridiculous amounts of awesomeness show up on your homepage everyday? That would be co-founder and president of Keep.com, MaryAnn Bekkedahl. She has her hands in everything from marketing initiatives and retail partnerships to lunchtime training programs and customer service technological enhancements. Read on to get an up close and personal look into how this president keeps her day fashion forward.

5:45 a.m.: Wake up, hop out of bed (yes, I’m that person), check Keep order volume, app downloads report, and email while waiting for shower to heat up. Skim Business Insider headlines from the inevitable 52 emails I have from them.

6:30 a.m.: Review the day’s agenda, make notes for meetings scheduled, email colleagues, and respond to emails/HipChat convos and texts that came in overnight.

7 a.m.: Stare at closet full of clothes and wish I had something else. Mental note to check my favorite Keepers’ Collections for ideas.

7:15 a.m.: Wake up my two kids (aged eight and 10), make breakfast, pack lunches, organize homework, confirm afternoon activities, decide #ootd with my daughter (!), and walk them to school (or bring them to camp in summer). Discuss my upcoming day with them, as well as theirs. They’re very into Keep!

9 a.m.: Check in with the GoGetter team (Keep’s customer service) on orders, issues, edge cases, and make notes for enhancements to discuss with development team. Technology is integral to our customer service efforts, and we’re inventing some pretty cool procedures for teaching the machines to manage the logistics just like (or better than) a human.

9:55 a.m.: Watch hilarious video or read scandalous article or mind-bending Tweet about THAT THING THAT HAPPENED last night/over-the-weekend/just now, compliments of Shani Silver, our editorial director who sees and shares everything as it happens.

10 a.m.: Meet with Keep CMO Courtney Harwood and the marketing team to review all initiatives, status, and priorities with Keep’s content calendar as our focusing element.

11 a.m.: Sneak away to Keep’s “soft room” or other semi-secluded area to hunker down and respond to retailers (big & small) who want to optimize their presence on Keep. Personal attention to their efforts — including the technical specifics across various commerce platforms —require one-on-one attention. End up Keeping ridiculous
commerce platforms — require one-on-one attention. End up Keeping ridiculous amounts of cool new products discovered on said retailers’ sites!

1 p.m.: Join summer Lunch ‘n Learn. Today’s topic is “Intro to HTML,” taught by front-end developer, Emily Maskin. Lunch ‘n Learns are held all summer long to insure that along with their project work, our summer interns get a great education at Keep. Topics range from basics of coding to etiquette of hashtag usage to understanding analytics, PR basics and more.

2 p.m.: Weekly staff meeting. Discuss everything about Keep’s business, from pressing issues to long-term strategy with the five leaders of the company.

3 p.m.: Meet with InStyle commerce lead — a new position that I’m excited they’ve put into place! Every media property should be shoppable on Keep, making their editorial picks easily shoppable for their audience, and ours.

4 p.m.: Text husband who’s working from home today: “Gotta work late. Take kids to pool, k?” Check Instagram to see what’s what out there.

11 p.m.: Check Keep order volume, app downloads report, and email before putting phone down for the night — and off to sleep.

Head over to Career Contessa to get MaryAnn’s full career story.
Career Contessa — an interview series of women & their inspiring career stories — goes beyond the resume by highlighting actionable tips for success that you can really use.

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